A Japan Journey of the Tourists, by the Tourists, for the Tourists —
A journey to discover the charms of Japan is not something simply handed to you. It is a unique story waiting to be woven, where travelers themselves take center stage and experience everything through all five senses.
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Yahiko Shrine: Niigata’s Ancient Ichinomiya at the Foot of a Sacred Mountain
Quick answer: Yahiko Shrine (Yahiko Jinja), in the village of Yahiko in Niigata Prefecture, is the ichinomiya — the highest-ranked Shinto shrine — of the former Echigo Province, with a history that shrine tradition…
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Sado Gold Mine: How an Island Mine Funded the Tokugawa Shogunate
Quick answer: The Sado Gold Mine (Sado Kinzan), on Sado Island off the coast of Niigata Prefecture, was one of the largest gold and silver mines in the world during the Edo period and…
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Hakone Checkpoint: Inside the Edo Shogunate’s Mountain Gateway
Quick answer: Hakone Checkpoint (Hakone Sekisho) was one of the Tokugawa shogunate’s most important inspection points on the Tokaido, the road linking Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto and Osaka, standing guard on the shore of…
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Kamakura’s Great Buddha and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu: Two Icons of the Shogunate’s First Capital
Quick answer: Kamakura, a short train ride from Tokyo, was Japan’s political capital during the Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333) and preserves two of its most iconic landmarks: the Great Buddha (Kamakura Daibutsu), a 13th-century bronze…
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Ueno Park and Kaneiji Temple: Where a Shogun’s Temple Town Became Tokyo’s Public Park
Quick answer: Ueno Park was born out of destruction. Kaneiji, founded in 1625 as the Tokugawa shogunate’s guardian temple, once covered most of what is now the park with dozens of halls and sub-temples.…
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The Imperial Palace and Edo Castle Ruins: Tokyo’s Layered Center of Power
Quick answer: Tokyo’s Imperial Palace sits on the site of Edo Castle, the former seat of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan for over 260 years. First fortified in 1457 and massively expanded by…
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Meiji Jingu: The Forest Shrine Built to Honor Japan’s Modernizing Emperor
Quick answer: Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine in central Tokyo dedicated to Emperor Meiji, who oversaw Japan’s transformation into a modern state, and his consort, Empress Shoken. Construction began in 1915 and the…
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Senso-ji Temple: The Story of Tokyo’s Oldest Temple in Asakusa
Quick answer: Senso-ji traces its origin to the year 628, when two fishermen brothers are said to have pulled a small golden statue of the bodhisattva Kannon from the Sumida River. A temple was…
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Nihon-ji Temple on Mt. Nokogiriyama: Japan’s Largest Stone Buddha, Carved Into a Mountain
Quick answer: Nihon-ji, on Mt. Nokogiriyama in Chiba Prefecture, was founded in 725 by the priest Gyoki under a decree from Emperor Shomu, making it one of the oldest temples in the Kanto region.…
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Naritasan Shinshoji: The Temple Founded to End a Rebellion
Quick answer: Naritasan Shinshoji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Narita, Chiba, founded in 940 after a priest’s fire prayers to the deity Fudo Myoo were credited with helping end the Taira no Masakado…
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Oshi Castle: The “Floating Castle” That Survived Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Flood Attack
Quick answer: Oshi Castle in Gyoda, Saitama, is remembered as “the castle that never fell” — in 1590, it withstood a massive flood attack ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during his campaign to unify Japan,…
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Kawagoe’s Kurazukuri Streets: The Edo-Era Merchant Town Known as “Little Edo”
Quick answer: Kawagoe earned the nickname “Koedo” (Little Edo) because it became one of the most important supply towns for Edo (modern Tokyo) during the Edo period, and its wealthy merchants built fire-resistant clay…